“Compact and bijou, Mostyn. Compact and bijou…” Ah, who could forget Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie (before he made the big time in the USA in House) from the 1980s, especially those very clever Alliance & Leicester Building Society television ads promoting mortgages? They were all very funny, and at the same time had a little dig at the Thatcher Era.

But life seems to be imitating art, where apparently Fry’s fictitious small apartment looks to be practically palatial in comparison to what’s on the market in London during the present housing rental crisis there. There’s a story of a studio flat (going for £780 a month – about $1200) that’s been snapped up, that measures just 87 sq. ft. – and its so small, that the only way to get into the wall-mounted bed is to stand on top of the fridge and climb a ladder.

But if you think that’s compact and bijou, then this spoof ad poking fun at the many new developments for Yuppies, has been placed in a now unused doorway niche in Capital Hill that’s been taken over by the homeless. I’ve passed by this spot on Pine, directly across from Cal Anderson Park many times at night – and its proved to be a virtual lifeline for several of Seattle’s unfortunate homeless.